Eight top stories to watch this fall
Eight top stories to watch this fall: The 2021-22 high school athletic year produced a great deal of success across the region in each of the three seasons; however, the fall season established the tone for the year by producing many sectional winners, exciting county tournaments, and a state champion.
This week marked the beginning of practices for the new fall season, which is one that promises to yield comparable excitement as a deep and talented field of athletes from the surrounding area prepared to continue the current pattern of victory as the leaves change hues.
In spite of the fact that there are a plethora of storylines that fans should keep an eye on during this year’s competition, the following are a few highlights to keep an eye on since they involve potential rematch champions, fresh faces, and shifts in the lineups of local teams:
MACY BEESON
It should not come as a surprise that the two-time reigning state champion from Lapel, who also holds the title this year, is at the top of the tales that everyone will be monitoring over the next few months.
Beeson, who won the individual state title for her school for the first time ever, will compete in a bid to become the state’s first three-time girls golf champion since 1999 and just the third overall. A subplot to her potential race would be getting back into the form she had in 2020 when she not only won the state title but also the sectional title and the regional title.
CLASS ACTION
At the beginning of this school year, the IHSAA made the announcement that Frankton would be moving up to Class 3A in most sports, with the exception of football.
The Eagles volleyball team will be the first to take on the new challenge. The team that was led by Coach Beth Sperry and finished with a record of 21-11 and came very close to winning its second 2A sectional in as many years returns almost the whole roster. The Eagles will now participate in Sectional 24, which features a diverse group of teams from different parts of the region, including Centerville, Delta, Jay County, and New Castle.
FIRST-YEAR LEADERS
The local schools have had a significant amount of coaching turnover in preparation for the upcoming school year, and the fall season will see the introduction of a huge number of new coaches.
They include Will Dailey and Tom Austin as co-coaches for the Elwood girls golf team, cross country coaches Doug Osselar (Liberty Christian) and Ethan Evans (Elwood), as well as David Beard returning to Daleville after a brief retirement, and long-time girls coach Melissa Hagerman adding the boy’s team to her responsibilities at Pendleton Heights.
Anna Ritz, who will be coaching at Liberty Christian, Alexis Gurley, who will be coaching at Anderson, Christopher Ferris, who will be coaching at Anderson Prep, Jackie Kimball, who will be coaching at Shenandoah, Jerry Saffold, who will be coaching at Elwood, and Sydnee Rudy will be coaching at Elwood (Alexandria).
The Anderson football team will now be coached by Jarred Pennycuff, while Adam Alt (Liberty Christian) and Chris Moore (APA) will make their respective coaching debuts in the sport of soccer.
NEW KIDS ON THE PITCH
As a result of the addition of boys and girls soccer teams to Lapel’s fall slate, two more first-year coaches will be responsible for guiding brand new programs throughout this season. As the Bulldogs join established area programs from Anderson, APA, Liberty Christian, and Pendleton Heights in bringing soccer to Madison County, Ryan Jackson will be coaching the boy’s team and Chad Soden will head the girl’s squad.
REPEAT PERFORMERS
The fall of 2022 was a very exciting period for local volleyball teams, as three teams won sectionals and another team extended their unmatched domination in Madison County.
Madison-Grant will look to retool and defend its Class 2A Sectional 39 championship, while Alexandria will face a difficult field that includes Wapahani, Wes-Del, and Muncie Burris as it seeks to repeat in 2A Sectional 40. Madison-Grant lost six key players to graduation, so it will look to defend its championship.
The year 2021 saw Daleville make it all the way to the regional championships, and they will be prohibitive favorites to win 1A Sectional 55 once again. Pendleton Heights will compete for its fifth straight Madison County championship, and the team has not dropped a set since the first set of pool play in 2018. Pendleton Heights will try to win its fifth straight Madison County championship.
STATE HOPEFULS
Since Luke Combs of Lapel finished third in the state cross country championships in 2019, no runner from our region has gotten to the finals, but there are numerous runners who have a chance to break that streak this autumn.
On the boys’ side, Daleville junior Faith Norris and Pendleton Heights sophomore state track finalist Ava Jarrell lead a young crop of talented area runners. On the boys’ side, seniors Andrew Blake (Pendleton Heights) and Noah Price (Liberty Christian) and juniors Cameron Smith (Lapel) and Hunter Smith (Frankton) lead a strong field of hopefuls.
STILL STREAKING
The Lapel boys tennis team and the Liberty Christian soccer squad are two of the most consistent programs over the past few years. Both of these teams play in the autumn, and they will be looking to continue their current run of success when they compete.
Even though they lost their ace doubles tandem Corbin Renihan and Landon Bair to graduation, the Bulldogs are well-positioned to win again with Jacob Erwin and Isaac Bair back in the top two singles spots. The Bulldogs have won eight consecutive Madison County titles and nine straight sectional championships under the coaching of Justin Coomer.
The Lions have won three consecutive sectional championships and four of the last five. Although Alt will need to replace star goalkeeper Tyler Houk, he will have to return offensive firepower in the form of Josiah Cabello and Abraham Tapia. The Lions have won three consecutive sectional championships.
SECTIONAL SHIFTS
This postseason, in addition to Frankton moving up in classification, many of the area’s teams will compete on newly constructed sectional fields.
The so-called “Madison County” 2A sectional has been broken up, with Alexandria, Elwood, and Frankton heading to Sectional 36 and Lapel rejoining Shenandoah in a tough Sectional 38 field.
In football, 4A Sectional 22 has added New Palestine and Beech Grove to an already difficult field that also includes Mount Vernon and Pendleton Heights.
In contrast, the 2A sectional that was referred to as “Madison County” has been split Elwood has moved from 2A Sectional 40 to Sectional 39, joining Madison-Grant there. At the same time, Muncie Burris, Wapahani, and Wes-Del have moved in with Lapel and Alexandria. A movement like this has also taken place in volleyball.
Read More: Top 10 Boxing Matches of all Time